Fact Sheet

January 2013

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 will hold a Public Meeting to share updated information, a timeline of events, and current data results about the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site (site). You should have received an EPA Fact Sheet in November 2012 which provided a timeline of EPA past, present, and future actions about the site. That timeline referenced EPA hosting a Public Meeting in January 2013, which is the basis for this announcement.

The site is located on a 200-acre parcel about 1 mile north of the I-70 interchange within the city limits of Bridgeton, Missouri. The site is comprised of two operable units (OUs). OU-1 contains a mixture of radiologically-contaminated soils, municipal refuse, and construction/demolition debris. OU-2 includes several sanitary landfill cells containing municipal refuse and construction/demolition debris.

After conducting extensive investigations, holding numerous public forums, and responding in detail to public comments, EPA signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for OU-1 in May 2008. This decision document outlined the selected remedy, which included the placement of an engineered cover system over the radiologically-contaminated areas,
long-term groundwater monitoring, and the adoption of institutional controls to restrict access.

After the ROD was signed, EPA continued to receive public comments about the selected remedy. In response to those comments, EPA tasked the potentially-responsible parties (PRPs) to conduct a Supplemental Feasibility Study (SFS) for OU-1 that further evaluated the ROD-selected remedy, as well as full-scale excavation of the radiologically-contaminated landfill material and disposal either at a permitted off-site facility or in a new, on-site engineered disposal cell.

The SFS Work Plan was released to the public in June 2010 and the PRPs proceeded to perform the SFS. After reviewing several draft versions of the SFS Report, EPA approved and released it to the public in December 2011. The estimated costs defined for each alternative in the SFS Report exceeded the threshold, which triggered an early consultation with EPA’s National Remedy Review Board (NRRB). Since January 2012, the NRRB has provided suggestions relating to the SFS Report for consideration. These include: evaluating additional groundwater sampling to refresh the data; conducting a more detailed study of the partial excavation alternative; and conducting a more detailed analysis of potential treatment technologies for the radiologically-contaminated landfill material. In June 2012, EPA Region 7 tasked the PRPs to conduct this work under the existing Consent Order.

In response to more general NRRB suggestions, EPA Region 7 committed to update radiation screening of the OU-1 surface and perform vertical radiation screening in the site monitoring wells.

In July and August 2012, the PRPs performed the additional groundwater sampling suggested by the NRRB. The data from this sampling event have been evaluated by EPA and will be summarized at the Public Meeting.

In November 2012, EPA staff performed the vertical radiation screening in the site monitoring wells to further refine distribution of radiologically-impacted wastes. In 2013, EPA staff will update the radiation screening of the OU-1 surface. The November results will be summarized at the Public Meeting.

In the near future, EPA will make a formal presentation to the NRRB on the results of the additional work addressed above.

EPA wants to help affected communities understand the technical information related to a site. EPA's Technical Assistance Grant Program provides up to $50,000 for a qualified citizens group to hire independent technical advisors. The advisors can help citizens interpret technical data, understand site hazards, and become more knowledgeable about the different technologies used to clean up sites.

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

EPA Region 7 is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in one of the public meetings, please notify the EPA Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator, Jonathan Cooper, at 1-800-223-0425 or cooper.jonathan@epa.gov at least seven days prior to the meeting. Speech or hearing impaired individuals should email or call using the local relay service.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If you have questions about this Fact Sheet, or need additional information about the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site, please contact: